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Paper: 08; Module No: 22: E Text
(A) Personal Details:
Role Name Affiliation
Principal Investigator: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad
Paper Coordinator: Prof. Ipshita Chanda EFL University, Hyderabad
Content Writer: Md Hasanujjaman University of Hyderabad
Content Reviewer: Prof. Kunal Chattopadhay Jadavpur University
Language Editor: Prof. Kunal Chattopadhay Jadavpur University
(B) Description of Module:
Items Description of Module
Subject Name: English
Paper No & Name: Paper 08: ‘New’ Literatures in English
Module No & Name: 22; Dalit Writings and New Literatures
Pre-requisites: English literature and language, Dalit studies, the New
literatures in India and abroad, the history and the concepts
of the caste system and the emergence of literary genres.
Objectives: To understand the conceptual dynamics of the caste system
in India and the anti-caste revolutions reflected in literatures
Key Words: English, literature, caste, dalit, postcolonialism, Hinduism,
untouchabilty, autobiography, etc.
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About the Module:
This module deals with the topic “DalitWritings and New Literatures”. In this module, the
concept of caste/Dalit has been carefully looked into and the literatures which have been
produced by the Dalits in India. The Dalits have produced wide ranges of the literary writings
based on their own life experiences. Their experiences as Dalit have led them to depict their
inhuman condition which is made by the infamous caste system prevailed in India since ages.
The birth of caste system is accompanied with the genesis of Hindu religious theology
wherein there are four stratifications/savarnas among the Hindu communities in India. The
Dalits are at the fourth strata of life. As Dalit they are treated even less an animal. For ages
they are denied their basic human rights and the dignity to live as human. They are subjected
to all kinds of humiliation, torture, and slavery. They are denied their right to exist. This ages-
long denial has forced the Dalit community of India to express their agony and sense of
helplessness through different modes of their writings. Through their writings they have
voiced against the brutal Hindu caste system which continues to subjugate them in all spheres
of life. However, their writings have brought them some sense of dignity and freedom. The
compilation of their writings thus constitutes the corpus of Dalit Literature which is the focus
of this module. The module also tries to connect the Dalit Literature with the emerging new
literatures as genres where the Dalit issues have been raised and dealt with in order to bring
the caste system into the mainstream criticism.
Caste System in India
In that Country the laws of religion, the laws of the land, and the laws
of honour, are all united and consolidated in one, and bind a man
eternally to the rules of what is called his caste.
---Edmund Burke (qtd. Dirks 03)
Edmund Burke`s quote indicates that the very idea of the caste is very much synonymous
with the idea of India. India is well known for being the most divided societies among all in
human history. True to say, the caste system is a cenral feature of Indian society as it
anchorages one of the greatest dividing forces that splits human beings into different castes
such as higher castes, middle caste, and lower castes. This divisive hierarchybased on the
notorious caste system is endorsed by certain religious sanctity, and that is the Hindu
religious sanctity. This religious sanctity is based on the sociological concepts of the term
'purity' and 'pollution' (Kumar 110-115). These endorsements of religious sanctity allow the
caste system to regenerate its legitimacy even though it is contested since few decades. For
this ugly caste system, the Dalits are the victims in many ways and in all spheres of life such
as in their rituals and cistoms, vices and virtues, faiths and unfaiths, occupations and protests
and this persists with diverse dimensions of strigency, in all parts of India.
This inhuman caste system has been constantly and methodically neglecting and
ostracising more than 220 million Dalits of India for centuries. The Dalits or the
untouchables,who are variously recognized as ati-shudras, chandalas, panchamas,antyajas,
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harijans, depressed classes, and the Scheduled Castes in different periods of time in the
history of Indian societies, still continue to bear the stigma of untouchability even though the
constitution of India has declared caste discrimination as a serious offence under the law. The
Dalits, as usual, are socially ostracised, economically backward and politically powerless.
The fate of the Dalits of India has been such that when they have tried to achieve their social
dignity, they have always been brutally ostracised and wiped out by the upper caste sections
and also by the casteist state power. It is this state sponsored domination that subjugates the
Dalits in all forms of life. To continue to subjugate the Dalits, the upper caste oppressors use
varius means such as mob-plundering, massacre, arson and brutal rapes. Though the Dalits
once have been designated as "broken men," they are now well aware of their "self identity"
and are prepared to question and challenge the hegemony of upper castes and classes (Kumar
115).
This bold step of challenging and interrogating the upper caste hegemony has
reflected, as a result of their consciousness, in the new emergence of Dalit Literature in recent
times. The Dalit Literature also is an inevitable part of the Dalit liberation movement. Before
discussing the various thematic concerns and different dimensions of Dalit Literature, it is
important to briefly analyse the various aspects of the Indian caste system, particularly,the
historical genesis, manyrebellious movements,its consequences in Indian society, which
were, in sequene of time organized to eradicate the caste system. It is also necessary to
discuss the various conditions, which have led to the emergence of Dalit Literature and
finally Dalit autobiography as a distinct literary genre.
Defining Caste
To define 'caste', has always been very difficult, may bebecause of its intricate nature. The
term ‘caste’ has also been variously understood in different ways as time passed by.
However, some scholars have tried to define what 'caste' is from their own understading.
Some of them have tried to understand caste in terms of 'class'. Other scholars have defined
caste as non-class divisions such as 'race' and 'racism'. However, their definition of caste
lacks the crux of the concept of caste because in actual sense, 'caste' surely does mean 'race',
though the root word 'caste' comes from the Portuguese word 'casta' which denotes 'lineage'
or 'race'. Rather the concept of caste brings to mind the idea of a society which generates
fixed categories or statuses of life and professions with firmly congealed by rules of
endogamy. These features which define the caste are fundamentally sanctified by or based
upon certain religiously-governed principles of 'purity' and 'pollution' which automatically
gives birth to a social system of hierarchy (Kumar 116).
The Origin of Caste
Historically, it is said that the caste system began when the Aryans came to India around
1500 BC, from southern Europe and northern Asia. They had fair skin that contrasted with
the indigenous natives in India. After coming to Indian continent, they conquered and
subjugated the indigenous people. They destroyed the pre-existing Indus civilization. They
considered themselves superior to the indigenous. As a result of their self proclaimed
superiority, they declared themselves as the upper caste groups descended from their Aryan
race. The lower castes, including Shudras and Dalits, descended from the darker skinned non-
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Aryan. After settling down in India, the Aryans arranged themselves into the first three
varnas calling them 'dwijas'. Most of the occupational groups were probably encompassed
under the Vaisya varna. Apart from the three varnas which they also created from their Aryan
race, they created the fourth varna that is the Shudra varna. With this chaturvamic order
Indian caste system was gradually fortified as religious sanctity and following this, the
Brahmans laid out many different caste rules and prohibitions for excluding the Shudras from
the so-called dwija society and push them to the condition of real slavery without the basic
rights of residency. The Shudras were kept away from social precincts of education and any
dignified status of life for quite a long time. This way, gradually, the caste rules and
prohibitions became a normal system which became a very crucial means of controling and
exploitating the Dalits.
It is believed that it was during Pushyamitra Sunga's rule (187 B.C. onwards) that the
practice of untouchability began. Pushyamitra was a Brahman and the commander-in-chief of
the last Mauryan king, Bruhadatra belonged to the Shudra varna. Pushyamitra killed
Bruhadatra and established Brahman rule which continued till 800 A.D. Fearing revenge on
him by the Shudras, Pushyamitra asked a Brahman pundit namely Manu, to help him. In
order to dismantle the potential revolution, Manu codified all inhuman and unethical laws
against the Shudras as religious obligation. Manu`s codified work was later known as the
Manushastra or Manusmriti. This was the Manusmriti that the full elaboration of the caste
hierarchy can be seen. This was the dawn of the Brahmanic caste system. During this time
Brahmans claimed the highest status in society and caste divisions were enforced by the
kings. The role of the king was seen to be protecting 'dharma' and dharma was now
interpreted as 'varnashrama dharma' or the law of the castes. To keep the upper caste interest
unbroken, varnashrama dharma was often supported, propagated and reinterpreted through
the Upanishads, the Sutras, the Smritis, and the Puranas, which are known in combination as
the Dharma Shastra today (Kumar 122).
Since ages, the ancient Dharma Shastra of the Hindus forced a series of social,
political, economic and religious constraints on the lower castes, making the untouchables
completely dependent on the upper castes. Due to this, the untouchables lived a life of
physical degradation, insults, and personal and social humiliation for quite a long time. They
were forced to do menial jobs only. They spent their life outside the village and fed on the
leftovers of the high caste people. For the untouchables, coming close to the upper caste was
considered to be 'polluting' and worse still and even their shadows were considered defiling.
They were denied access to public facilities such as wells, rivers, roads, schools, markets, etc.
Caste system was such a cruel practice that the untouchables were forced to tie an earthen pot
around their neck so that their sputa should not fall to the earth and pollute others. These
inhuman treatments made their conditions extremely destitute, deprived and made them the
most depressed section of human beings. As a result, they remained socially ostracised,
economically impoverished, and politically servants of the upper classes (ibid). The genesis
of the caste, according to Ambedkar,goes to the Gupta period when the intensity of caste
system was extreme and worse in history of Indian society. The caste system have survived
through the Mughal periods and took concrete shape during the British colonial period and it
perpetuates its presence even in today`s India which considers to be modern.
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Dalit Literature
As time passed by since centuries, after endless suffering and utter dehumanization, the
Dalits have become resistant and have assembled courage to challenge the upper caste Hindu
hegemony. They have learnt to fight back the casteist forces and regain their self dignity as
human beings. They have organized many liberation movements and protests in different
forms. One of the forms is literature through which they have expressed their century long
agony and degradation which they have been tolerating. They have expressed their voice for
their basic human rights through their own writings. They adapted various forms of literary
wrings such as poems, short stories, novels, paintings, memoirs, and most importantly, the
autobiographies, which altogether have formed a literary canon known as Dalit Literature.
Depressed Class writing traditions from Phule to Ambedkar
The beginning of Dalit writing tradition which actually was the first non-Brahmin
literary movement and was the anti-caste movement came from the literary consciousness of
Jotiba Phule and Dr. B R Ambedkar. Phule came from Mali, a Shudra community lived in
Maharastra. Being a Dalit he faced gruesome discriminatations in his life since his childhood.
Beingdiscriminated and realising that caste is an unending processes of duhmanizing the
lower castes, he determined to educate himself, which led him to be a social reformer and
specially an icon for Dalit rights. He decided to educate the Dalits and specially the women
by setting up widow marriage campaign, schools, and other missions such as Satya Shodak
Samaj, Sarvajanik Dharma Pustak, and Victoria Orphanage. Most importantly, he brought the
revolutionary Dalit consciousness among the Dalit communities by his revolutionary writings
suhc as Trutiya Ratna, Gulmagiri, and Powada: Chatrapati Shivaji Bhonsle Yancha and many
others.
Like him is also Ambedkar who came from the same state. His life was very dymanic.
Since his childhood he also faced the cruel disricminitaions as a Dalit. He sturuggled and
strived to get edcutaion which he finally attained. He even managed to goto foreign nations to
get higher education which ultimately made him realize the dangerous consequences of the
brutal caste system. He truly brought a revolution in the history of the anti-caste movement in
India. His persistent struggle rewarded him with the position of being the founder of the
Indian onstitution. He successfully brought anti-caste laws and provisions in the constition.
His contribution in the anti-caste movement is also measuredthrough his wide range of
literary writings which brought ultimate consciousness among the lower caste Dalits. He
started a journal in Marathi called ‘Bahiscrit Bharat’, ‘the Janata’ and later established Samaj
Samata Sangh to develop the lower caste people. He produced writings such as “Riddles of
Hindusim”, “the Untouchables Who Were They And Why They Became Untouchables ?”,
“the Annihilation of Caste”, “Pakistan or the Partition of India”, “The Buddha and His
Dharma”, among others. Prominently, Ambedkar also struggled for political power as he
realized that withour political power the Dalits are helpless to challenege the caste suytem
which degrades their life.
The emergence of Dalit Politics and the coming of Dalit literature
The emergence of Dalit Politics and the coming of Dalit Literature came about in the modern
times through the legacy ofMahatma Phule and Bheem Rao [Link] Literature
gained thrust in Maharashtra. Phule`s and Ambedkar`s political struggle was the beginning of
the political revolution of the Dalits in India, through the eventual politicial revolutionary
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struggles such the Pnather Movemnet, struggle for separate electorate. The political
consciousness was further consolidated by the emergence of the Dalit writers such as
Baburao Bagul, Bandhu Madhav, and Shakarao Kharat who were already producing Dalit
Literatures in the 1960s. In the initial phase of its formal development there was a progressive
movement called Little Magazine which has a kind of rebellious manifestation of the
educated youth of those days against the establishment. These Dalit youths found inspiration
in the movement of American black movement and their black literature and Black Panther
became the role models of sorts for them. This protest gained its first expression in the form
of a new literature called Dalit Literature (Abedi 02). Thus, the Dalit politics achieved
unprecedented impetus in the modern times also when the Dalit Literature as canon in itsef
was thriving.
Since the 1970’s, a considerable number of Dalit poets and writers have been
producing poems, short stories, novels and autobiographies dealing with the themes of cast
oppression, question of identity, poverty, untouchability and revolution. Now, these subaltern
communities are using the traditionally denied weapon of literacy by themselves, and are
exposing the conditions under which they have survived as well as directly flouting the sub-
human status imposed upon them by the Hindu social order. Dalit Literature questioned the
mainstream literature which they call as ‘Hindu Literature’ and challenged its hegemony
(Bala 38).
Dalit Poetry
The new generation of Dalit poetry emerged in the recent period as a protest or rebellion
against the oppressive traditional restraints. Poetry was one of important genre of Dalit
resistant literature. The mode of poetry stemmed out from the pain which can be heard and
felt in the Dalit poems. Through the poems they have rebelled against the caste monosity.
They have depicted their experiences of injury and insults and their labour. Almost in every
poem, one can feel the pain coming from the Dalits as Arjun Dangle writes his poem
‘Revolution’ depicting the inhuman treatment meted out to the [Link] was one of the
well-known poets in the early Dalit Literature. His renowned poem was ‘Vidhyapith’. The
other poets like Keshav Meshram- “Utkhanan” (Excavation), Daya Pawar- ‘Kandwads’
(suffocating enclosure), Namedeo Dhasal- ‘Golpitha’ (The Red Light Zone) and so on (Bala
40).
Dalit Fictions
The Dalit Literature also encompasses the genre of [Link] the Dalits became prominenet
in rasising the unheraed voices against the barbaric treatment by the uppert caste sections,
they began to adapt the popular genres of literature such as novels and stories. Even the non-
Dalit writes began to depict the suffering life of the Dalits and Mulk raj Aanad is one of
them. Anad wrote the ‘Untouchable’ where he portrayed the life of Bakha suffering from the
inhuman practice of manula scavenging. The interesting graphic fiction,‘Bhimayana:
Experiences of Untouchability’ by Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam depicts the
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untouchable life of Ambedkad since his childhood. ‘Samskara’ by U R Ananthamurthy also
shows the degraded and himuliated life of the Dalits.
Dalit Stories and Essays
Stories also emerged as powerful genre of Dalit Literature. The prominent stories by
Premchanda depict the stark realities of the Dalit community in rural India where caste
discirminations are rampant. Ajay navaria`s Unclaimed Terrain is a collection of stories
which depict the daily urban life of the Dalits. Gogu Shyamala`s ‘Father May Be an Elephant
and Mother Only a Small Basket But…’ is also a collection of stories where the lives of the
Madiga community have been portrayed. Besides, the novels and stories, the Dalit writers
have also produced the critical essays critising the caaste system. Kancha Illaiha`s “Why I am
not a Hindu: A Sudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy” isa
critical essay dealing with the question as to why a Dalit should be a Hindu which is itself the
main source of the entire caste [Link] also penned many essays such as “Caste in
India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development’ depicting the birth of caste system in
India.
Dalit Autobiographies
The prominent genre of Dalit Literature is the autobiography. A large portion of Dalit
writings are basically autobiographical becausethe Dalit writers have produced literature
based on their own life experiences of humiliation, degradation, and inhuman treatment.
While narrating their experiences they have dominantly adapted the atubiogarphical mode of
narration. In all their writings, they have in common the true confessional experiences.
Generally, theDalit writers do not register their protest against a particular group but they
weave their struggle against the casteist social system and the government, which in their
view keeps them debauched and deprived. In other words, the basic dynamism of Dalit
Culture is the thirst for identity which they try to buid in the autobiographies. Like men, the
Dalit women also wrote their autobiographies but in less number. The limitations of Dalit
women autobiographies are: their autobiographies are not always translated into English from
other regional languages; the voices of women still remain faceless and anonymous in the
patriarchal society. Only recently, a few Dalit women autobiographies have been translated
into English. Below are some of the Dalit literary works, written by Dalit men and women
either in English or are available in English translation, are being discussed in the following
sections.
Laxman Mane's Upara
First published in 1984 in Marathi, Laxman Mane's Uparagives a thorough account of the
writer's struggle in life because of the repressive caste system. In this autobiography though
the protagonist succeeded to get an education, he could not fulfil his dream of securing a
government job. This makes the story all the more different. Mane was the first person from
the Kaikadi community, who got graduation. His community considered education as an
abomination. That's why when Mane was trying hard to become educated, the community
imposed social boycott on his family. Later, Mane could not fulfil his dream of settling down
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in a place after even getting a permanent job. Thus Mane had to face two challenges: his own
community and the upper caste - both of whom opposed his attempts (Kumar 179-198).
Sharan Kumar Limbale`s The Outcaste
The autobiography of Shran Kumar Limbale,The Outcaste narrates how the mahar women
were being sexually oppressed by the upper caste Marathas. In Maharashtra and other parts of
India, there was the practice that the upper caste landlords kept the young Dalit girls to fulfil
their lust. The Dalit families had to obey the customs of giving their daughters to the upper
caste Patils and in return, these young Dalit women were given shelter with some provision to
live in. These women were simply kept as their concubines and the children which they used
to produce were considered illegitimates because the Patils never acknowledge fatherhood.
The Dalit women also had to satisfy the lusts of many other landlords and as a result, they
could not name the real fathers of their children. They were economically unsecure and live
miserable lives. So, Limbale`s autobiography portrays how his mother and grandmother
being Dalit were the victims of this social evil (Kumar 185-6).
Vasant Moon's Vasti: Growing up Untouchable in India
This autobiography of Vasant Moon is the narration of an untouchable boy who grows in a
slum amidst poverty to become a self-built person and later to become a responsible leader of
Dalit community in Maharashtra. He was an orphan since his early age and getting education
was a very challenging task for him. He completed his graduation and then he became a civil
servant in Maharashtra. Getting the government job helped him to fulfil his aspiration to
work for the disadvantageous community and specially the Dalits. For his activism and
academia Moon was bestowed responsibility by the Maharashtra government to edit B.R.
Ambedkar's writings and speeches in English which he carried out quite elegantly. Though he
had privileges, but the autobiography assiduously depicts his picture of life which is ridden
caste discrimination and dehumanization (Kumar 193).
Omprakash Valmiki's Joothan: A Dalit's Life
Omprakash Valmiki's Joothan is written in Hindi and translated into English. Though the
autobiography is a life story of an individual, it speaks about the entire Chuhra or Chamar
community, who have been degraded and dehumanized by the caste system for ages. Valmiki
disobeys his community rule at an early age by going to school. Constant humiliation and
degradation by the upper caste teachers and students during his school and college life could
not prevent him from his studies. His determination and hard labour finally got him the
distinction of being the first graduate from his community and also the first person to get a
government job. In his autobiography, he boldly writes how his family survived on the scrap
of food given by the upper castes until he got the government job. Though getting the job his
family might have not gone for the traditional scavenging duties, but Valmiki as a conscious
Dalit never felt liberated. It was painful to see his fellow Dalit members obediently going for
the same degraded traditional duties. Valmiki by composing his autobiography thus delivers a
great service to the upliftment of his community (Kumar 197).
Sumitra Bbave's Pan on Fire
This autobiography is collection of narratives of eight Dalit women who narrate their life-
stories namely: Sangeeta, Chhaya, Rakhma, Rukmini, Mangala, Ashoka, Savitri and Leela.
They belong to different family backgrounds and have difference in age, education,
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profession, religion, look, caste, taste, choice, and also life-experience. But they share a
commonness of living in a slum in Bombay and in a sense they all represent slum culture.
Many of them actually do not belong to Bombay. But they had migrated from rural areas for
jobs and over the years embraced an urban way of life. Thus, the life-experiences of these
women are mainly urban-centred and metropolitan in style and the narratives show how they
face caste discrimination even in such urban or metropolitan spaces (Kumar 221).
Bama's Karukku
Bamaa's autobiography raises multiple questions against the caste system. Being a Dalit
woman Bama faces so many challenges and had always a struggling life. The autobiography
begins with her story since her childhood when she starts working with her family members.
After a long struggle she is able to complete her graduation and becomes a teacher at a
convent. Influenced by Jesus Christ she becomes a catholic nun and devote herself to serve
the poor and the needy. But gradually she realises that even in the Christian convent the
lower caste people face discrimination. She also realizes that most of the church authorities
are from upper caste who deliberately discriminate against the lower caste people. Bama was
herself humiliated in the convent because of her Dalit status. After a long enduring she could
not continue anymore and therefore she resigned from the convent and went back to her
community. But unfortunate, in her community she was considered an outsider and this made
her felt more alienated and vulnerable. To get peace with herself and to alleviate her tension
she began to write her life stories, which finally came to be the testimony of her life as a Dalit
woman (Kumar 229).
Urmila Pawar`sAmhihi Itihas Ghadawala
This is Urmila Pawar's short autobiographical narrative named Amhihi Itihas Ghadawala or
Urmila Pawar and the Making of History. This narrative is outcome of dialogues between the
author and a group of students, teachers and activists at an oral history workshop held in
Mumbai. The participants of the workshop were enthusiastic to learn about Urmila Pawar`s
life-experiences as a Dalit woman writer. The dialogues were actually in Hindi but later
transcribed into English. The themes of the narrative in the workshop were concerning
Urmila`s childhood and growing up stages as adult, her married life, her occupation as a
writer, discriminations in various phases of her life, etc (Kumar 242).
While reading Dalit Literature, there always a debate comes up whether the Dalit
Literature can be written only by the Dalits. The main objective of Dalit Literature is to
demonstrate the inhuman and degraded condition of the Dalits in India. Many non-Dalit
writers like Premchand, Mulk Raj Anand, T S Pillai, and V S Khandekar have produced
works depicting the Dalit lives, which also comes under the fold of Dalit Literature. But since
the Dalit Literature is meant to depict the lived experiences of the Dalit, the Dalit writers do
not accept the writings depicting the Dalit issues by the non-Dalit writers. They argue that the
Dalit Literature can only be written by the Dalit writers as they have their own lived
experiences and they know what it means to be a Dalit and therefore, they can only show the
truth of Dalitness in the writings. They also argue that the Dalit writings by the Dalit
themselves bring out a revolution against the caste system and also it establishes aDalit
identity. They accused the non-Dalit writers of superficiality in writings by the non-Dalit
writers. TheDalit writers argue that they compose the writings with blood of pain and their
P a g e | 10
natural feelings of being Dalit and living a life of untouchablity and dehumanizing and
therefore, they have the exclusive right to create Dalit Literature on their own.
It is to be noted that the Dalit Literature is also connected to the domain of New
Literatures which are emerging India. The study of New English Literatures is about colonial
and postcolonial writings which emerge in former British colonies such as: parts of Africa,
Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Caribbean countries, India, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Singapore, islands in the South Pacific, and Sri Lanka. India being one of them
produces the Literatures dealing with various themes and issues including the Dalit issues. In
the age of decolonisation, postcolonial literature is seen as critical manifestation of colonial
experience. The category of New Literatures shows how the issues of Dalit or untouchablity
are entangled with the power-politics of British colonization and how they are critically
analyzed and contested in the postcolonial situations. The new emerging Indian Dalit and
non-Dalit writers demonstrate the conditions of the Dalits who had been further victimized by
the British rule and thus, the New Literatures as genre also creates a domain of Dalit studies
in Indian academia.
Conclusion
To conclude, the module deals with the topic related to the emergence of Dalit Literature and
its presence in domain of emerging New Literatures in India. To define, Dalit Literature
basically portrays the trials and hardships, humiliations, exploitations, pain and sufferings,
dehumanization, scorn, and poverty faced by Dalits for centuries. The Dalit writers are
determined to gain self-respect and identity. Today, Dalit Literature includes various issues.
Many writers raise gender, class, religious issues. They even write about the internal conflicts
of the Dalit communities. More and more Dalit Literature is being translated into English and
it is gaining wide publicity and being introduced as course in many universities. By the entry
of Dalit Literature into academia, the Dalits are increasingly gaining economical and political
mileage. The Dalit writers are developing their own literary foundation with ideological and
political recognition. Therefore, it is becoming a new and different stream of Indian literature
which can be considered as New Literatures because of postcolonial perspective.
Works Cited:
Abedi, Zakir. Contemporary Dalit Literature: Quest for Dalit Liberation, New Delhi: Arise
Publications, 2010.
Bala, Anju. Giving Voice to Voiceless: A Study of Dalit Literature. Galaxy: International
Multidisciplinary Research journal. [Link]. March 2014. Rohtak:Maharshi Dayanand
University, 2014.
Bama, Karukku, Translated from Tamil by Lakshmi Holmstrom, Chennai: Macmillan, 2000.
Bhave, Sumitra. Pan on Fire. Translated by Gauri Deshpande. New Delhi: Indian Social
Institute, 1988.
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Deshpande, Manali S. History of the Indian Caste System and It’s Impact on India Today.
Senior Project. California: California Polytechnic State University, 2010.
Dirks. Nicholas B., Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1950.
Kumar, [Link] Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation and Identity. New Delhi:
Orient Blackswan, 2010.
Limbale, Sharankumar. The Outcaste: Akkarmashi, translated from Marathi by Santosh
Bhoomkar, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003
Malik, Bela. "Untouchability and Dalit Women's Oppression". Economic and Political
Weekly. Vol. XXXIV. No.6. February 6, 1999.
Mane, Laxman. Upara: An Outsider, translated from Marathi by A. K. Kamat, New Delhi:
Sahitya Akademi, 1997.
Moon, Vasant (ed). Vasti: Growing up Untouchable in India: A Dalit Autobiography, tran. by
Gail Omvedt, United States of America: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2001.
Valmiki, Omprakash. Joothan: A Dalits Life, translated from the Hindi by Arunprabha
Mukharji, Kolkata: Samaya Publication, 2003.
